In what seems like an overwhelming series of disasters this year, China’s Sichuan province was recently hit by a terribly destructive earthquake. It has taken many lives and destroyed many towns and cities. Among the cities hit is the capital of the Sichuan province, Chengdu. In today’s Voice, I want to not [...]

I just finished the wonderful Matt Gross piece on Darjeeling in Sunday’s NY Times (Oct. 14, 2007). What a fine piece of writing! In it, Matt Gross repeatedly mentions Rajah Banerjee’s out-sized ego, but this is too facile and too easily misrepresents the man himself. People with less “patrician” self-assurance are simply incapable of pioneering [...]

For thousands of years, its been believed that tea can only be grown in subtropical environments. I am very pleased and a little awed to learn that tea is growing in Washington State at the Sakuma Brothers Farm. Yes, you heard me, the Pacific Northwest. How marvelous! I can’t help but think that maybe little [...]

I just got a call from my mother who at 88 continues to read the New York Times faithfully every Sunday. She was very excited to tell me that the Carlyle Hotel, in Manhattan, was offering a Madeline Tea event every Saturday and Sunday for the 12 and younger set. At a price of $40.00, [...]

 
In the past five years, green tea has experienced huge popularity in the United States. Every manufacturer of tea bags, from Lipton to Numi has at least one green tea offering. Most are careful to advertise green tea’s health benefits, “high in antioxidants!” in bold, flashy, red print on the label.
Recently these companies have taken [...]